Weft stop-motion for looms.



N0. 7|O,767. Patented Oct. 7, I902.

G. FAIR.

WEFT STOP MOTION FOR LOOMS.

(Application filed Sept. 13, 1901.)

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No. 7I0,767. Patented Oct. 7, I902.

G. FAIR.

WEFT STOP mmnu For: LOOMS.

(Application filed Sept. 13, 1901,)

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GEORGE FATE, OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EDXVIN \V. GAY, OF NEWVTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

WEFT STUP=MOTIGN FOR LOOMS.

' Sl- EGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. '7 10,7 67',

dated October 7, 1902.

Application filed September 13, 1901. Serial No. 75,300. (ModeL) To all 2072,0721, it away concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE FAIR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Salem, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Weft Stop-Motions for Looms, of which the following is a specification.

The ordinary looms now in general use are almost universally provided with weft-forks in the middle or at one side of the lay, which are adapted to setin motion a train of mechanism, which in turn acts to stop the loom when the weft-thread breaks or runs out. from the bobbin. Ho'wever,with these devices the loom will usually make from three to five picks before it is stopped, even if its momentum only carries it through one pick. Moreover, the thread often comes off the bobbin or cop so freely that it kinks and thrashes out of the shuttle before it is drawn through the eye and becomes entangled with the weftfork, so that the latter is held in such a position that they cannot act to stop the loom, thus permitting the loom to run until the weaver discovers the trouble and stops it. Serious imperfections are thus made in the cloth, which it is extremely difficult to repair even after the loss of much time. The trouble and inconvenience arising from the difficulty encountered by the weaver in finding the particular shed in which the weft-thread has broken are too well known to require more particulardescription.

The object of my invention is to provide a stop-motion for a loom which will prevent the above-named difficulties from arising by stopping the loom on the same pick as that on.

which the weft-thread breaks or runs out and which will open the shed at the same point as that at which it was when the weft-thread failed.

A further object of my invention is to provide a stop-motion of this character which may be readily applied to an ordinary loom.

I accomplish these objects by means of the mechanism hereinafter described, and disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a frontelevation of the lay of a loom and such. parts as relate to my invention. Figs. 2, 3,and dare views taken on the line :r a; of Fig. 1, the parts being shown in different positions in each view. Fig 5 is a detail plan view of a part of the stop-motion. Figs. 6 and 7 are plan views of a shuttle provided with my invention, showing the parts I in two different positions. Fig. 8 is a crosssection on the line 1 y of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a side view of a portion of the shuttle.

The lay l is provided with a rod 2, which extends longitudinally thereof and is journaled in suitable bearings in the front side of the lay. A spring 3, which is secured at one end to the lay and. at the other to the rod 2, acts constantly to rotate said rod in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2. Rod 2 is pro-" vided with a finger 4, which is firmly secured thereto and projects therefrom, and a fixed stop 5 is secured to the frame of the loom, said finger being adapted to engage said stop, as hereinafter described. The rod 2 is also provided with arms 6 and 7, which are secured at opposite ends thereof, said arms beingprovided with pins,which are respectively adapted to engage slots in the lower ends of levers or feeler-fingers 8 and 9. Said levers 8 and 9 are pivoted to the lay in a vertical position, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, and are provided with rearwardly-bent upper ends. Each lever is also provided with a shoulder on the upper side of its rearwardly-extending end, as shown at 88, Figs. 2 to L, and each offsaid ends is beveled from its under side, as shown in Fig.8. An arm 10, which I will hereinafter. term a dagger, is secured to rod 2. A rod 11, which is fixed at its front end, carries a sleeve 12, which is adapted to slide freely thereon, and a spring 13 is interposed between said sleeve and the support of the rod ll,as shown in Fig.2. A knock-off lever 14 (best shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2) is pivoted to the frame and is adapted to engage the shippenlever 15 when the latter is caught in its holding-notch, as shown in Fig. 5. I

The shuttle-body 1c is provided Withtwo thread-guide plates l7and'l8, each of which is doubled back on itself, so that a recess is formed between eachplate and the bent-back portion thereof, 170 and 180, which I will term for convenience thread-supports. These plates extend transversely of the shuttle-body and are set vertically in grooves in the side walls thereof, with their doubled portions 170 and 180 adjacent each other and at the same distance apart as they are distant from their respective plates 17 and 18, so that recesses of equal width are formed between said plates.

' Each plate 17 and 18 is provided with a nearly vertical slot 19 and 20, respectively, which lead tangentially into a circular passage or thread-guide 21, which is formed in each plate. These thread-guiding passages are preferably somewhat less than one-half the diameter of the tip of the bobbin and are in such a position that theircenters are directly in line with the center line of the bobbin or spindlewhenintheshuttle-body. Theguideplate 18, which is nearest the end of the bobbin 160, is arranged closely adjacent thereto and preferably about onefourth of an inch therefrom, and the thread-eye 20 of the shuttle is in the vertical plane of and on a level with the center line of the bobbin, as shown, so that as the thread 22 from the bobbin is drawn to its guide-passage 21 in plate 18 it will be bent at a sharp angle as it passes from the tip of the bobbin to the guide-passage of plate 18 and bent at another sharp angle as it is drawn through the guide-passage to the eye 26,asshown in Figs. (Sand 9. As the thread is unwound and drawn over the end of the bobbin it will continually travel around the end thereof, as shown in Fig. 9, provided the bobbin is wound in the usual direction. For this reason slot 20 enters the circular guide-passage 21 tangentially on the side of the shuttle-body toward which the thread is drawn as it passes over the outer side of the bobbin, so that as the thread is drawn across the lower end of this slot it will not catch .0 therein and there will be no projecting prong or notch which will be in a position to prevent the free circular motion of the thread in the guide-passage 21.

The particular location of the thread-eye 26 with respect to the bobbin and guide passages, whereby the thread is constantly drawn to the center line of the bobbin, is a highly important feature of the combination, as it makes the circular motion of the thread about a the tip of the bobbin and in the guide-passages 21 even and places the same amount of friction on the thread at every point in its circular movement. The friction which is placed on the thread caused by the two abrupt turns which it is caused to make as it is drawn from the bobbin to the eye, together with the friction which is placed on it as it travels about the tip of the bobbin, places a constant tension on the thread and also pulls or straightens out any kinks or loops which might form in the thread and be carried in that condition into the cloth if the shuttle were not provided with my invention. The most important function, however, of this construction and arrangement is to prevent these kinks or loose thread from passing through plate 18 and becoming entangled in the thread-fork 23 now to be described.

The thread-fork 23 is formed integral with a weighted fiat plate or shank-piece 24:, which is pivoted between guide-plates 17 and 18, at one side of the vertical slots therein, so that the arms or prongs of said arms are directly opposite the recesses inclosed by said plates 17 and 1S and their backwardly-bent ends 170 and 180. The shank 2a is arranged nearly at right angles to the arms, so that when the shank is in a substantially horizontal position the arms will be in a nearly vertical position and their front sides will be closely adjacent a line between the slots 19 and 20 in the plates 17 and 18. The front side of each arm is provided with a downwardly and diagonally extending projection 25 near its lower end, as shown in Fig. 8.

In threading the shuttle the thread is drawn from the bobbin across the slots 19 and 20 through the eye 26 of the shuttle. As the thread-eye 26 is in a vertical plane through the flared upper ends of slots 19 and 20, the thread will be drawn into said slots when the thread is drawn through the eye without any care being exercised on the part of the weaver. As the eye 26 is also located below the level of projections 25 on the fork and practically on a level with the center line of the guide-passages 21, when the thread is drawn through the eye it will be drawn past said projections into said passages. As the arms of the fork extend below the passage 21, they will rest against the thread so long as it is in said passages. If the thread is drawn taut, as when it is being drawn out of the shuttle, the arms will be held away from the sides of passages 21 and the vertical edges of the bentback portions or thread-supports 170 and 180 of the plates by the thread, and when the thread is slack, as when the shuttle is in the shuttle-box, the weight of shank 24 will cause its arms 23 to press the thread against the sides of the guide-passages and the vertical edges of thread-supports 170 and 180, so that the latter act together to support the thread in conjunction with the guides and so that the thread in turn supports the shank 24 by holding its arms in such a position that they can swing from their normal position (shown in Fig. 8) only to a slight degree. As the projections 25 extend across the slots 19 and 20, it will be impossible for the thread to thrash out of the guide-passages 21, and thus permit the shank 24 to swing the fork away from the position shown in Fig. 8. An aperture 30 is formed in the side wall of the shuttle-body which is directly adjacent shank 24: and is of slightly-greater length than the width of the shank, so that the feeler-fingers 8 and 9 may enter the shuttle and engage said shank at predetermined intervals, as hereinafter described.

The operation of my device as a whole is as follows: The mechanism which actuates the picker-sticks 27 is so timed that they are made to act to project a shuttle across the lay into the opposite shuttle-box 18 when the lay has made one-half its rearward stroke from the breast-beam 100, the shuttle reaching the opposite box by the time or before the lay reaches its rearmost position. \Vhen the lay has swung about three-eighths of the way back, the finger t on rod 2 will engage the fixed stop 5, and as the lay continues to swing back said stop will cause said rod to rotate against the action of spring As said rod is rotated in this direction the finger 6 thereon will act to swing the feeler-fingers S and fl, so that their upper ends will be swung forwardly away from the shuttle until their rean wardly-extending ends are withdrawn from the opening 30 in the side of the shuttlehody, as shown in Fig. 3, and will therefore not obstruct its flight when the picker acts to shoot it across the lay. When the lay reaches its rearmost position, the levers S and 9 will both be drawn back away from the shuttle slightly farther than the position shown in Fig. 3. As the layswings forward again the rod 2 will be rotated in the opposite direction by the spring 3, and by the time the lay passes its middle position the end of the lever 8 or 0 will begin to enter the side of the shuttle. 1f the shank 2% is sustained by the thread, the pointed end of the feeler-finger 8 or 9, as the case may be, will pass under said shank, and the shoulder 88 of the finger will engage the edge of said shank, (see Figs. 2 and 8,) so that the finger will be prevented from swinging any farther. This will in turn prevent further rotation of the rod 2 and further lowering of the dagger 10, so that the end of the latter will be supported above the sleeve 12, as shown in Fig. 2. The inclined ends of the feeler-fingers serve to lift shank 21 to the proper position if it should drop slightly on account of the slackness of the thread. If the thread should break or run out, the shank 24 will drop to the position shown in Fig. at and the feeler-finger will not be stopped, as shown in Fig. 2, but will continue to swing in until its end strikes the upper side of the shank 24, as shown in Fig. 4, so that rod 2 is rotated to such an extent that the end of the dagger 10 will be swung below the top of sleeve 12, and as the lay is advanced still farther the end of the dagger will engage the sleeve and slide the same along the rod 11. As soon as the sleeve slides forward on the rod 11 it will engage the inclined surface on the horizontal end of the bell-crank knock off lever 14., swinging said lever downwardly. This will cause the upwardly and reaiwvardly extending end of said lever 14 to throw the shipper-lever 15 back out of its holdingnotch, (see Fig. 5,) so that it may be forced outwardly by its spring 150, thus shipping the belt from the driving-pulley in a wellknown and obvious manner by the time the lay has advanced the sleeve 12 but a short distance beyond the point where it first engaged lever 14.

The dagger 10, rod 11, sleeve 12, and spring 155 are preferably duplicated on the opposite side of the loom from the shipper, as indicated in Fig. 1. These springs 13 are adapted to act as buffers and to absorb the momentum of the loom after the belt is shipped and just before the lay reaches the extreme forward position and before the crank which drives the lay passes over its center. 1f the crank passed over the center, the shed would be changed and the lay would be forced back to the position for the next pick, but by stopping the lay before it reaches its forward position the buifer-springs will act to return the lay and again open the shed in precisely the same position as that which it was in when the thread broke, so that the weaver may place the end of the bobbin-thread on the layat just the point in the work at which the thread broke, thus preventing all imperfections in the goods from lack of weft-thread at every point where it should be laid.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that with my device I am enabled to stop the loom on precisely the same pick as that on which the weft-thread breaks or runs out,it acting as what is termed a pickfinder. Furthermore, my mechanism is so simple that it may be applied to almost any loom of the general character referred to without any material change being made therein. The attachments to the shuttle do not in any Way interfere with the threading of the same, and they also provide a tension for the weftthread which is even and straightens out the thread before it reaches the fork.

The particular means for actuating the knock-off mechanism is not an essential feature of my invention, as various other mechanical expedients may be substituted therefor.

Having thus explained the nature of my invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, though without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, what I claim as my invention is as follows:

1. A shuttle having two fixed thread-supports arranged between the end of its bobbin and its eye, said supports having upright edges against which the thread may be drawn, an arm which is pivoted in front of said edges and is arranged to swing therebetween, a weight connected at an angle to said arm which acts to swing the same toward and past said edges, a projection on the opposite side of said arm from its weight, and above its lower end beneath which the thread will be carried as it is drawn through the eye, whereby the thread will normally support said weight and be held below said projection, and means for automatically stopping the loom when the thread is drawn from between said arm and supports.

ICC

2. A shuttle having a thread-guide which is provided with a circular thread-passage between the eye of the shuttle and end of the bobbin, and closely adjacent the latter, the diameterof said passage being materially less than the diameter of the end of the bobbin, a thread-support between the eye and said guide and closely adjacent the latter, a pivoted arm which is arranged to swing between said guide and support, means which act constantly to swing said arm so that it will normally press the thread against said guide and support, and means controlled by said arm which are adapted to stop the loom when the thread is drawn out of engagement with said arm so that the latter may swing to an abnormal posit-ion.

3. A shuttle having two upright threadsupports arranged between the shuttle-eye and the bobbin, and at one side of the center line of the latter, a weighted arm which is pivoted on the opposite side of said center line and is adapted to swing between the said supports, so that when the thread is drawn from the bobbin to the eye it will be drawn between said supports and said arm and will support the latter in its normal position, and means for stopping the loom which are set into operation when said arm moves to an abnormal position upon the failure of the shuttle-thread.

a. A weft stop mechanism comprising a shuttle having two upright thread-supports which are arranged between the shuttle and the bobbin and at one side of the center line of the latter, an arm which is pivoted at the opposite side thereof and is provided with a weighted shank which extends at an angle thereto toward the adjacent side of the shuttle-body, said parts being so arranged that the thread will be drawn between said arm and supports as it is drawn to the shuttleeye and will normally support said shank in substantially one position, a feeler finger which is pivoted on the lay, means for causing the same to engage said shank when the shuttle is in the shuttle-box; whereby said finger will be prevented from moving to an abnormal position while said shank is held in its normal position, and means for stopping the loom which are set into operation by the movement of said finger to an abnormal position.

5. In a loom a weft-detecting shuttle mechanism comprising means which are adapted to press against the weft-thread and to be normally held in an inoperative position thereby, a spring-pressed finger movable on the lay which is adapted to engage said shuttle mechanism and to be normally held thereby from moving to an abnormal position, a fixed stop which is adapted to withdraw said finger from said shuttle mechanism against the action of said spring as the lay moves rearwardly, a dagger carried by the lay and connected to said finger, which dagger normally is held in an inoperative position by the latter, a knock-off lever, means for disconnecting the loom from the driving power when said lever is operated, a spring-buifer carried by the frame, operating means which are in position to be moved by said dagger and are adapted to simultaneously compress said buffer and to operate said lever when it is moved by said dagger, said parts being arranged so that the forward movement of the lay may be arrested before it reaches its extreme forward position.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE FAIR.

Witnesses:

LOUIS I1. I'IARRIMAN, G. E. UCKER. 

